It seems Emily bought into Cedric's words.
"Really? I—I didn't think of it this way.... Thank you." Her face a little red, she said to Cyril.
"She's probably thinking something like, 'Oh, he's not so bad, maybe!?' She is too simple!" Rhamn mocked harshly.
Emily hesitantly continued, "Then... When can we go?"
Cyril didn't think for long, giving his reply immediately, "We are not in a hurry. Let's go on the weekend."
We don't have any plans on the weekend, right?
"No. It's all clear. Maybe pick up the pills, but that should be done quickly."
He asked his partner with perfect memory just in case.
Emily didn't have any complaints and nodded with a relieved expression.
"Can I go with you? I promise I won't be a hindrance!" Enthusiastically, asked Cedric.
He grew rather attached to this situation, wanting to see the siblings reunited.
Cyril didn't mind this. He even thought the more people, the more chaotic and merrier it would be, so he gave a nod.
Cedric excitedly did a fist pump in the air and thanked him.
...
With her business here finished, Emily said her goodbyes and left, leaving the two alone in the park.
It seems Cedric wanted to talk about something, as he refused to move away.
"What?" Finally asked Cyril.
He planned to practice in the park for a bit.
His technique would no longer cause a tree massacre, so it should be fine to train in the Academy's park.
Tigris also needed to learn today, not to mention Cyril's own studies. He was quite busy, actually.
"Do you want to hang out? When you have free time, of course." Cedric's smile turned more polite, like asking for a favor.
The way he said this made it seem like he wanted something specific, though obviously trying to hide it.
Cyril was slightly intrigued by what it could be, but he had too many things to do lately.
"Another time maybe," he vaguely replied and got up to leave himself.
He'll study at home for now.
Cedric watched his back without trying to stop him, only making a slight shrug in the end.
...
Back in the dorm, Cyril was quickly finishing up with his studies.
Morpho at the moment was fully absorbed in her own regiment.
She remained in the park to strike trees, confusing any student who happened to pass by.
If Cyril focused on their connection, he could even subtly feel Morpho's newfound understanding of the technique. It was a rather mysterious but very useful thing.
When he was done, Cyril began teaching the lazy tiger.
Tigris was sitting with his back straight on the table, trying to follow Cyril's explanations while staring at the Spell Making textbook.
A part of Cyril was hoping that their special connection would play an effect here as well and allow Tigris to learn from his experience, but that was wishful thinking.
Either the connection didn't work that well here, or Tigris was just really not the most talented feline out there.
"That's impossible! Tigris is a part of our family after all; don't look down on his talent. He is simply a late bloomer." With urgency, Rhamn defended him.
It seems pride didn't allow her to admit such things.
"I am only stating the truth!"
No matter what the two of them think, their actions didn't change.
Tigris was stuck in this study hell, forced to comprehend these weird scribbles in the book.
After a long and grueling battle, the mighty tiger finally succeeded in casting the most rudimentary spell known to mages.
The flash of light went off only for a brief second, and the mana it consumed was more than it should've, but it was undoubtedly a success.
Tigris practically ran away after this success, going to rest on his cat bed, refusing to study further.
"We've had some good progress; let's finish for today," Rhamn pleaded on his behalf.
Cyril looked at the time; it was already evening, and the outside was getting dark.
"Alright, you can rest up." Cyril got up from the chair and went to change his clothes. "I'll go to the training hall," he notified the tiger.
Since Morpho was graciously sharing her experience on the technique, Cyril decided to practice something else in the meantime.
Tigris only hesitated for a moment and went back to resting. He refused to move for the rest of the day; it was time to relax.
...
When Cyril arrived at the training hall, he just happened to encounter Albert, who was also on the way here.
The man quickly averted his eyes, pretending not to notice Cyril. He no longer had that hateful look on his face; instead, he focused all his energy on striking a dummy with a wooden two-hander.
"See? Now he is way more motivated to improve himself. We never saw him here at this hour before. So we did good back in that test," Rham pointed at him with a self-assured voice.
If you say so...
Ignoring her, Cyril approached the weapons rack, staring at a wooden spear with contemplation.
I forgot to ask Selene about combining the technique with a spear...
While it was somewhat satisfying to use his own hands in a fight, he still preferred to use a weapon. He trained with a spear his whole life; he won't let go of it now.
"We could try figuring out a way ourselves, though that might be too difficult at our current stage."
I shouldn't be too greedy. Let's take it slow.
Thinking that, he picked up his weapon of choice and soon began his training.
There was at least some level of truth to Rhamn's earlier words. Right now you could see a lot more first-year students sweating and working out.
Though maybe it was more of a trend for their grade. Some people simply stood in friend groups, taking turns half-heartedly striking a dummy and talking with each other all the while.
A few of these groups discussed a bit of recent gossip that piqued Cyril's interest as he was training.
"There have been far more animal attacks across the entire city lately. Many people are reported injured or worse every day!"
"I know about this! Don't tell anyone; my father works at the Tower, and he said a lot of magic creatures have escaped the zoo recently and are wreaking havoc right now!"
"How come knights can't deal with a few cats and dogs?"
"You idiot! These are magic creatures! They are very elusive and cunning. Some even have abilities that work quite well in the city. It's not that simple."
"You don't have to call me names... I still think knights should be able to deal with them soon. Maybe we can help them!?"
It seems like escaped animals were still being a problem for the city.
Cyril expected them to be caught by now as well.
Also, judging from the rumors, a lot more magical creatures have escaped than Cyril first thought. Maybe he can even find some himself with the help of Morpho?
Leaving that thought aside, he refocused on his training... Though he will propose this idea to Rose some time later.
Once Cyril was done with his routine, he took a shower in the changing room and went to the park.
He still needed to pick up Morpho, else she would spend the whole night hitting trees.
Not that Cyril thought she couldn't handle it, but he would feel very guilty if the Academy's park were to become destroyed.
...
Morpho, with a satisfied flutter of her wings, landed on Cyril's shoulder; she shared different emotions as if excitedly recounting her insights after training.
Cyril, wearing a slight smile, walked to leave the park while listening to Morpho—with a little help from Rhamn.
Just as he reached the exit, a familiar person stood there, blocking his way.
"Can we talk right now? Nothing too important, just some small things..." Said Myra while scratching her arm.
She looked a bit nervous and unsure, but overall not as bad as before.
"Sure." Cyril gave a reliable nod and turned around to go back into the park.
Myra silently followed him while staring at his back.
Let's find that gazebo again. That place was quite pleasant...
"I wonder what Miss Unstable will share with us next. Even though her skill isn't bad, her heart is far too weak," Rhamn mocked along the way.
At times like these—and they happened often—Cyril was grateful no one else could hear Rhamn.
"..."